Once upon a time, there was the Delphi3d.net database. It held a vast database of OpenGL driver versions for various different graphics cards. It listed innumerable hardware-specific bits of information about them (the core implementation-specific queries, for example), as well as what extensions each version supported.

This was a very useful tool. One that has been gone for some time. Is there any way the ARB could set up a similar database?

The way it worked was that you could download and run a small program that tested what your driver could do and sent it to the server. The server put the information in the database. There was a set of various web-scripts used to access that information. It'd be a great idea if the ARB could do something like that again.

Brolingstanz

09-28-2009, 03:50 PM

Agree that was a useful tool.

Dunno if the ARB is up to it but we (read: those of you with some free time ;-)) could probably get something rolling.

Alfonse Reinheart

09-28-2009, 04:05 PM

The real problem is the database itself (and the HTML access to it). That requires a server, which is not something that people can just sort of have. Writing the application to collate the data is simplicity by comparison.

Ilian Dinev

09-28-2009, 07:29 PM

For now, this might suffice: http://www.realtech-vr.com/glview/

Alfonse Reinheart

09-28-2009, 07:58 PM

The useful part of the database was being able to see, for example, how widely adopted a particular extension or version is. Seeing what your current hardware and driver does is trivial; it's what other people have that's important.

Ilian Dinev

09-28-2009, 08:00 PM

Yes, of course: main screen in that app, "Database" clicky.

Dark Photon

09-29-2009, 09:02 AM

Yes, of course: main screen in that app, "Database" clicky.
So you can only access the "database" by running the app? And the app is only available on MSWin/Mac. So this database is inaccessible to Linux devs. That's unfortunate. Would have been useful.

zeoverlord

09-30-2009, 06:01 AM

The real problem is the database itself (and the HTML access to it). That requires a server, which is not something that people can just sort of have. Writing the application to collate the data is simplicity by comparison.

I have two, that are simple to use, does that count.

elFarto

09-30-2009, 06:04 AM

GLView's database is a giant XML file, it should be trivial to turn that into a nice HTML file.

Regards
elFarto

Ilian Dinev

09-30-2009, 06:18 AM

And it installs easily on Linux via Wine, the lack of .net2.0 isn't stopping access to the extensions.xml file :) .